smiley

adjective

smil·ey | \ ˈsmī-lē

Definition of smiley

(Entry 1 of 2)

: having a smile : smiling often smiley kids

smiley

noun

Definition of smiley (Entry 2 of 2)

: emoticon

Examples of smiley in a Sentence

Adjective

She's a very smiley kid.

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

But underneath the smiley press appearances and sleek bops is a young woman deeply unsatisfied with her life. — Christopher Rosa, Glamour, "All Miley Cyrus' Black Mirror Episode Makes Me Think About Is Britney Spears," 6 June 2019 In the smiley picture, the ex-Suits star is wearing her signature pre-royalty look of skinny jeans, a white shirt and a dressed down leather jacket for a casual evening with friends. — Lucy Wood, Marie Claire, "Remember That Time Meghan Markle Vacationed with Eddie Redmayne in 2015?," 13 Nov. 2018 Even when sharing a cute, smiley photo, Philipps makes sure to point out it’s not all fun and games with her two daughters. — Patricia Garcia, Vogue, "Cardi B Cancels Tour to Focus on Motherhood, and 9 Other Celebrity Moms Who Know the Struggle Is Real," 27 July 2018 Up until 1995, most of her modeling jobs required the peppy, smiley spirit favored by teen magazines—a tough image to navigate while still a teenager in suburban New Jersey. — Steff Yotka, Vogue, "An Iconic Delia’s Model Remembers the Brand’s ’90s Heyday," 5 Nov. 2018 Two years ago, the smiley gray-and-white pooch disappeared from his home with the Frausto family. — Kelli Bender, PEOPLE.com, "Dog Missing Two Years Reunites with Family After Pet Parents Spot Him on TV Adoption Segment," 6 July 2018 Interestingly enough, kombucha gave me the same slightly smiley temperament—in a good and natural way. — Allison Young, Good Housekeeping, "The Weird Side Effects Of Drinking Kombucha Every Day For A Week," 26 Feb. 2016 Scallops are feminine, but not overly feminine, a great old-fashioned smiley shape. — Lisa Cregan, House Beautiful, "Krista Ewart on Decorating a Cheerful Beach House," 18 July 2010 Over the years, the stumpy, smiley little pooches have appeared with Her Royal Highness in family photos, co-starred in sketches with Daniel Craig and posed with the Queen on the cover of Vanity Fair. — Brigit Katz, Smithsonian, "The Last of the Queen’s Corgi Dynasty Has Died," 18 Apr. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Many patients first encountered this new thinking in the form of charts that asked them to point to a range of smiley to frowning faces to indicate where their pain fell on the scale. — Shari Rudavsky, Indianapolis Star, "Did the crackdown on opioid prescriptions go too far? Here's why doctors are reconsidering," 10 June 2019 Colleagues that Slack each other smiley-face emojis stay together. — Kelsey Gee, WSJ, "Slack Co-Founder on the Power of Emoji at the Office," 21 May 2019 The super smiley tot didn't seem the least bit bothered by the cold—probably because he was adorned in a teeny tiny gray snowsuit from The North Face. — Jennifer Aldrich, Country Living, "Joanna Gaines Bundled Up 7-Month-Old Crew in This Top-Rated Baby Snowsuit You Can Buy," 5 Feb. 2019 The smiley design seems to be inspired by the infamous hotel slippers Justin’s always wearing. — Tamara Fuentes, Seventeen, "Hailey Baldwin Showed Off Justin Bieber's New Clothing Line – Here's Where You Can Buy It," 26 Dec. 2018 The photo features a smiley Woodley posing with a name tag for her character, Jane. — Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, "Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern Wish Their Big Little Lies Co-Star Shailene Woodley a Happy Birthday," 15 Nov. 2018 In the same shot as their great-grandparents, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Charlotte and George weren't their usual smiley selves in the main family photo: Bless them! — Amy Mackelden, Harper's BAZAAR, "Prince George and Princess Charlotte Look So Moody in Princess Eugenie's Royal Wedding Portraits," 14 Oct. 2018 Selena posted a photo looking happy as ever, laughing with friends (and even wearing smiley-face earrings!). — Leah Thomas, Teen Vogue, "Selena Gomez Posted a Reminder That Instagram Is Not Reality," 22 Aug. 2018 Since 2015, the consortium has had to choose the hues available for the complexions of smileys. — Virginia Heffernan, WIRED, "The Delicate Art of Creating New Emoji," 28 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'smiley.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.